By Reason Wafawarova| Reforms in a polarised state mean the merging of polarised entities towards a shared common value, not one entity gravitating towards the other.

What we need in Zimbabwe is a mindset change from both the ruling party and the opposition.

For as long as both ZANU-PF and the MDC are pre-occupied with the fight towards the extinction of each other we cannot possibly envisage a true democracy in the country.

ZANU-PF has to accept the MDC as an alternative political party in our country, inasmuch as the MDC has to accept ZANU-PF as the ruling party.

We cannot entrench ourselves in the hopelessness of intolerance where we use polarising labels terrorists and puppets.

While the opposition might have collaborated and worked with some foreign powers to topple ZANU-PF, that does not exactly mean that everyone in our opposition is a sellout by definition, or subscribes to the idea of foreign meddling in our affairs.

Equally, ZANU PF might have used violence, intimidation, state power, and might have even abused our judicial system to target and punish its opponents, but that does not necessarily make ZANU-PF a terrorist organisation. Neither does it mean that every ZANU-PF member and supporter subscribes to the idea of violence and intimidation.

What is happening is instead of working towards developmental political competition based on a contest of ideas, we have spend twenty good years breeding hate and intolerance.

We have allowed our politicians to drag the whole nation into power politics, and that is why we now have a vicious virtual war where keyboards are used as weapons to express hate and intolerance of one another.

We are now ZANU-PF before we are Zimbabweans, and MDC before we are Zimbabweans.

There is no Zimbabwe for ZANU-PF and there is no Zimbabwe for the MDC.

There is only one Zimbabwe for us all, and so many political parties for each of us to choose.

Let us stop this meaningless business of idolising political leaders far well beyond their depth.

It fatally insults my intelligence to belong a country where people have the nerve and temerity to idolise such intellectually unassuming characters like Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa.

We cannot create heroes out of depthless people by pretending they are super intelligent and faultless, screaming and scolding away anybody that points out to their weaknesses.

It is the business and duty of elected leaders to defend their own names when they get criticised, critiqued, derided, slandered or even smeared.

Donald Trump does a good job of it, as did George W Bush, Barrack Obama, Tony Blair, John Howard, Jacob Zuma, and many others in history.

Cartooned, slandered, protest marches, name called, insulted and everything you can think of, but at no time did these people set up vigilante groups to attack their critics, nor did they ever use state power to hit at their opponents.

It is part of the stride of politics to be ridiculed, scorned at derided, demeaned, slandered and even defamed, just like it is to be idolised, celebrated, praised and even hero worshipped.

Polarisation is a stalemate that can only be removed by tolerance, and as Zimbabweans we have to understand that we have to start gravitating towards political competition and contestation and move away from political warfare.

Zimbabwe we are one and together we will overcome. It is homeland or death.

Reason Wafawarova.